Hat-former feeder



Aug. 31 1926; 1,598,429

H. F. FETCH HAT FORMER FEEDER Filed Feb. 6, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 31 1926. 1,598,429

H. F. FITCH 'HAT FORMER FEEDER Filed Feb. 6. 1926 2 SheetsShee.t 2

'- in these devicesthe common practice is to Patented Aug. 31, 1926.

U N! l) 5 Pair-Err HERBERT F. FITCH, OF SOUTH NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.

nar ronmn'n FEEDER.

Application filed February 6, 1926 This invention relates to a feeder for feeding fur to hat formers. At the present tnne have a boy weigh out the proper amount of fur for a hat and place 1t on a constantly movin belt which conve s it to a nickel" by which it isthrown onto a movable conveyor and w-hich'conveyo'r carries it to the feed rollers by which it is fed to another picker andsome'means for transferring it to thefo'rmer. Under this arrangement a boy is requiredfor eachmachine as he has to watchthe machine very carefully to see that fur is fed at the proper time and soforth. It is alsonecessary for the coner,

that is the operator of the former, to carefully watch the feeder to determine when the fur for a single hat hasbeen entirely transferred to the former. The boy is also required, for best results,- to feed the fur to the feeder at just the proper time to give best; results i'n-the'hat forming operations and if this'feeding is not done at the proper time there may be variations in the hat or i malformed hats, and so forth.

It'is,- therefore, an'object of my invention to providea feeder which will obviate these objections, wh ichwill feed the fur to the former in a" more uniform manner, and at evactly theproper time to securethe best results; an'd one in which it is not'necess'a'ry for the boy'who Weighs the fur to'give all his a tten-tionto the feeding, and he may, there-fore, weigh the fur for two machines.

It is'alsoan object of the invention to do away with the moving conveyor for conveying: the fur from" the first picker to the second" picker:

lVith-th e foregoingand other objects in view, I h-ave devised the construction shown somewhat diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings fornlin'g a part of this specification, similar reference characters being employed throughout the various figures to indicate correspondingelements. In these drawings,

Fig. l is a partial side elevation and partial=sectio1rof the former and the feeding means th'erefor shown somewhat diagrammatically, and

Fig. 2is a rear end elevation of the feeder with the upper part broken away to more clearly show theconstruction.

In the drawing the former is shown atlo with the usual perforated cone 11 therein which is connectedto the usual suotion de Seri'al No. 86,476.

vice not shown. The feeder comprises a movable conveyor or belt 12 associatedflwith the discharge end of which is apair of feed rollers 13, and on the outlet side of these rollers is a picker roll 14; This pickerand f ed rolls are located at the lower end of an upwardly inclined chute 15 leading to a drum 16 mounted at the upper end of the chute. I This drum is mounted to rotate about a horizontal axis and in the present construction comprises a foraminous cylindrical screen 17. At the opposite or' delivery's'ide of'this drum is a pair of feed rollers 18, and a picker roll 19 is on the delivery side thereof. On the other side of the picker rollis a drnm 20 which blows the fur over the platform 21* so that it is'dra'wn intothe former and deposited on the cone. Means is provided for driving the conveyor 12 androtatingthe drum 16by partial revolutions. In the present case'during eacl'i-operation' the drum 161nakes a half revolution, and the driving mechanism for the drum and the conveyor 12 are so constructed and'arranged that theconveyor is driven to feed fur to thefeed rolls 13 and the picker 1% only when thedrum 16 is stationary, and while the drum 16 is making this half revolution the conveyor 12 is stationary so that there is no fur fed to the drum a t'this time.

It'will, of course, be obvious that various driving mechanisms for carrying out this operation may be provided, but by way of illustration I have shown a motor 22, such as an'e lectric motor, belted by means of the belt 23 i to a pulley 24 on' the main drive shaft 25; Mounted on'this shaft" are two spaced pulleys26 and 27 which are loose on the shaft but may bedriven therefrom by means of the clutch cones 28'and 29 respectively, which'are splinedto the shaft and may be moved to engage correspondingly tapered recesses inthe hubs of the pulley for driving the same. A fork 30 engages these cones to slide them on the shaft and is mounted on a transversely slidable rod 3-1 to shift theclutch cones from one pulley to the other. The pulley 26 is connected by a belt 32 to the driving means 33 for the conveyor 12 while th'e'pulley 27 is connected by means of a belt34to a counter shaft 35 and from there by means of belt 36 to a pulley driving a gear 37 meshing with another gear 37 which drives the feed rollers 18. There is also a driving means such as" a belt 38 from this d1iving 1neans to a v through the belt -16.

CTI

pulley 39 on the shaft of the drum 16. The drum shaft also carries a double cam or stop 10 having stop shoulders 41 arranged to engage the end of a bar 42 and hold the drum stationary while the fur is being deposited thereon. This bar is connected to the slidable bar 31 so as to be movable therewith and may be guided by a suitable guide 43. The picker 14 and the. feed rolls 13 are driven from the ma in shaft 25 by means of belts 1-1 and 15, and the picker 19 and drum 20 are driven from the main shaft The two pickers are driven constantly while the drum 16 and the conveyor 12 are driven alternately as above described. The driving mechanisms for the drum and conveyor are so arranged that they are controlled personally by the coner to start the drum 16 rotating to feed the fur deposited thereon to the former and at the same time stop the conveyor 12, while automatic means is provided for stopping the drum 16 at the end of a half revolution,

that is, after the fur has been transferred therefrom to the former, and to then start the conveyor 12 so that the weight of fur which has been placed thereon will be transferred to and deposited on the drum 16 for the next feeding operation. This control is shown in the drawing as a shaft 47 extending to a position adjacent the coner with a lever -18 which may be controlled by him. The shaft also carries a lever 49 which is connected to the slidable shaft or rod 31 carrying the fork 30. This may be of any suitable connection such as a pin and slot connection 50 and 51. A spring 52 is provided to shift the bar 31 in the opposite direction at the end of the feeding operation.

The operation is as follows: As stated above the pickers 14 and 19 are driven constantly. lVe will assume the fur for a hat has been deposited on the drum 16 and the coner has removed the previously formed hat from the cone 11 and is prepared to form the next hat. He then throws the lever 48 to shift the rod 31 to the left as viewed in Fig. 2. This withdraws the end of the bar 42 from engagement with the stop shoulder 1-1 of the cam 40, thus releasing the drum 16, and shifts the cone clutch 28 into engagement with the pulley 27 to drive this pulley and from this pulley, through the belts 3 1 and 36, to drive the feed rolls 1S and the drum 16 in the direction shown by the arrow A in Fig. 1. At the same time the clutch 29 is moved from engagement with the pulley 26 which drives the con veyor 12. The conveyor 12 thus remains stationary during the rotary movement of the drum 16. lVhile the drum is rotating the fur deposited thereon is fed to the rollers 18 from which it is thrown by the picker to the drum 20 which transfers it to the former. During this rotary movement of the drum 16 the end of the bar 42 rests on the face of the cam 40 and thus retains the bar 31 in the left hand position and the clutch in driving relation with the pulley 27. At the end of the half revolution, or when the fur deposited on the drum 16 has been transferred to the feed rollers 18 and is on its way to the former, the end of the bar 43 drops off the surface of the cam into the path of movement of the next stop shoulder 1-1 because the bar is shifted to the right as viewed in Fig. 2, by the spring 52. This bar 4-2 thus stops the rotation of the drum 16 and the clutch cones 28 and 29 are shifted to the right as viewed in Fig. 2, so that the cone 29 will engage the pulley 26. Thus the driving connection to the drum 16 is broken, and the pulley 26 for driving the conveyor 12 is in driving relation with the main shaft 25.

Therefore, as soon as the drum 16 stops rotating the conveyor 12 is started moving. While the conveyor 12 was stationary and the fur was being transferred from the drum 1.6 to the former the boy placed on the stationary conveyor 12 the proper weight of fur for the next hat. Thus as soon as the drum 16 stops rotating and the conveyor 12 starts moving the fur pas es through the feed rolls 13 to the picker by which it is thrown up the chute 15 and deposited on the wire screen or drum 16, and this operation is automatic. Therefore, while the coner is removing the previously formed hat from the cone and preparing for the next hat the fur for this hat is being deposited on the drum 16.

The rapid rotation of the picker 141 sepa' rates the fur as it comes through the feed rollers 13 and throws it into the chute 15, and the current of air caused by this rapid rotation of the picker upwardly through the chute carries the fur with it and de posits this fur on the screen of the drum 16, the air passing out through the drum. The fur by this arrangement is practically uniformly distributed over the surface of the drum so that on the feeding operation there will be a substantially uniform feed of fur to the former, giving a uniform operation of the former and a better hat.

By this arrangement the boy can weigh out the fur for one hat and place it on the conveyor 12 at any time when this conveyor is stationary, which is the time 3 when the previous hat is being discharged from the drum 16 to the former, and he can then weigh out fur for another ma chine. As he is not required to watch the machine except to be sure to place the fur on the conveyor only when the conveyor is stationary, he can easily tend two machines while at the present time a boy is required for each machine. It will also be apparent that as soon as one charge of fur on the drum has been transferredto the former and the drum stopped the next 'charge, or the charge hich has been placedon the conveyor 12, Will be automatically "transferred to the drum 16 Without any further-"attention. By use of the chute 15 between the conveyor and the drum the usual moving conveyor for carrying thefur from the picker 14 to the picker 19 is omitted, thus greatly simplifying the machine andgiving 'a more reliable operation as the conveyor is very apt to cause trouble in operation. It is a simple matter to feed the-required amount of steam'to the fur by feeding it into the chute 15. Also, as the stopping of the feed ing mechanism is automatic as soon as the charge of fur on the drum has been transferred to the former, the operator does not -have to Watch the feeding device as careable holder for fur, means for transferring fur from said holder to the former, means for driving the holder, means for controlling said latter means, and means for feeding fur to the holder only When the holder is stationary.

8. In a feeder for hat formers, a rotary drum adapted to hold fur, means for transferring fur from said drum to the former, means for rotating the drum by a series of partial revolutions, and means for feeding fur to the drum While the drum is stationary.

4. In a feeder for hat formers, a movable foraminous screen adapted to hold fur, means for transferring fur from the screen to the former, means for intermittently mov ing said screen, and means for causing a current of air through said screen and feeding fur to said current when the screen is stationary.

5. In a feeder for hat formers, a movable foraminous screen adapted to hold fur, means for transferring fur from the screen to the former, means for intermittently moving the screen to deliver the fur to the trans fer means, and means for causing a current of air though the screen and feeding fur to the said current for deposit on the screen While the screen is stationary.

(3. In a feeder for hat formers, a movable foraminous screen adapted to hold fur, means for transferring fur from the screen to the former, means intermittently moving the screen to deliver the fur to the transfer means, means for causing a current of air through the screen and means for feeding fur to said current'for deposit on thescreen, only when the "screen is stationary.

7. In a feeder for hat formers, a rotary drum "comprising a foraminous screen,

"means for transferring fur from the drum to the former, means for causing a current of ai rt'hrough the screen and feeding fur to said current for deposit on the screen While the screen is stationary, and means for intermittently rotating the drum to deliver the fur to the transfer means.

8. In a feeder for hat formers, ai'rotary drum comprising a foraminous screen, means for transferring fur from the drum to the former, means for causing a current of air through the screen, means for rotating the drum in a series of partial revolutions to deliver the fur to the transfer means, and for to the air current only While the drum is stationary.

9. In a feeder for hat formers, a movable holder for fur, feed rollers associated With said holder, means including a picker for transferring fur from said holder to the former; means for feeding fur to said holder comprising a movable conveyor, feed rolls associated with said conveyor, a picker associated With the feed rollers and a chute leading from the picker to the holder; means for moving the holder to deliver the fur to the first mentioned feed rollers, means for moving the conveyor to deliver fur to the second mentioned feed rollers, and con trol means to stop the conveyor While the holder is moving and to stop the holder While the conveyor is moving.

10. In a feeder for hat formers, a movable foraminous holder for fur, means for transferring for from said holder to the former, a movable conveyor, feed rollers associated with said conveyor, a picker associated With the feed rollers, a chute leading from the picker to the holder, means for driving the holder, means for driving the conveyor, and control means for said driving means arranged to stop the conveyor While the holder is moving and to stop the holder While the conveyor is moving.

11. In a feeder for hat formers, a rotary drum comprising a foraminous screen, means for rotating said drum, means for transferring fur from said drum to the former, a. movable conveyor, feed rolls associated With the conveyor, a picker roll associated With the feed rolls, a chute leading from the picker to the drum for conveying fur thereto, driving means for intermittently rotating the drum, driving means for the conveyor, and control means for the conveyor driving means arranged to permit movement of the conveyor only while the drum stationary,

12. In a feeder for hat formers, a movable foraminous holder for fur, means for trans ferring fur from said holder to the former, a movable conveyor, eed rollers associated with said conveyor, a picker associated With the feed rollers, a chute leading from the picker to the holder, means for driving the holder, means for driving the conveyor, personally operated means for controlling said driving means to advance the conveyor to feed the fur to the transfer means and stop movement of the conveyor, and auto matic means to stop the holder after the fur has been transferred and to then start the conveyor.

13. In a feeder for hat formers, a rotary drum comprising a foraminous screen, means for rotating said drum by partial revolutions, means for transferring fur from said drum to the former, a movable conveyor, feed rolls arranged to receive fur from the conveyor, a picker associated with the feed rolls, a chute leading from the picker to the drum, driving means for the drum and the conveyor, personally operated control means for starting the drum and stopping the conveyor, and automatic means for stopping the drum at the end of a partial revolution and starting the conveyor.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HERBERT F. FITCH. 

